UCU Celebrates Accreditation of Theology
Lviv - Joined by bishops, religious, and representatives of the government and education, the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) on 9 March 2006 celebrated the licensing of theology as an academic discipline by Ukraine 's Ministry of Education. The ministry announced its decision on 2 March, following long years of hard work by the staff of the university. UCU Rector Fr. Borys Gudziak spoke about the matter at length at a 6 March press conference.
As Fr. Gudziak said, thanks to the work of numerous generations of priests, scholars and the faithful of different denominations, the years-long work of UCU is a success. On 2 March, at a session of the National Accreditation Committee, theology finally received recognition in Ukraine . This event completed stage one of the development of theological studies and education in Ukraine , and work on stage two is already being done. UCU played a leading role in the accreditation of theology.
The importance of the academic recognition of theology is underlined by the fact that Ukraine was the only country in Central and Eastern Europe where theology enjoyed no civil rights. According to the rector of UCU, today dozens of theological schools of different denominations that have already been active in Ukraine may make use of this precedent.
"We are witnesses to a great breakthrough: Christian ideas have found a proper place in the scholarly and social life of Ukraine , where the nation was deeply wounded by the dramatic history of the 20 th century and where painful economic, social and political transformations continue. This society has an acute need to accept the potential which religious life offers. After 15 years of independence, Ukraine is still looking for ways to turn from an officially atheist society to a multi-denominational one, where people would not lose the opportunity to give a critical analysis of the outlook and mission of religious communities. That is where the task of the theologian lies," said Fr. Gudziak.
The rector of UCU said that theology would not have been recognized without the Orange Revolution. It was Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko who supported the idea of the accreditation of theology in Ukraine . Also important was the support of other schools, in particular Lviv National University , the National University of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy , Krok University , and Chernihiv National University.
"With every step there were more and more people and institutions that supported the accreditation of theology in Ukraine ," said Fr. Gudziak. "Those were the Orthodox hierarchs of different denominations, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches, seminary administrations, the Lviv Council of Rectors, the journal 'Krytyka,' foreign ambassadors, and politicians and foreign scholarly centers like Harvard University, the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, the Petro Jacyk Center, and other international universities and foundations."
Regarding new tasks for UCU, Fr. Gudziak said that he believes the most important thing is to develop and strengthen the Ukrainian "school" of theology even more.
"It is also possible that Ukraine , which, to a large extent due to the ecclesiastical opposition movement, overcame totalitarian regimes, may become the place where the proposal of a new outlook for the Europe of the 21 st century is formulated. Theology may play an important role in this process. To form a school which would not close its eyes to the sufferings of modern people, in their deep spiritual needs and in social and economic injustice, is the key task of UCU," said the rector.
Today nearly 1000 students study at UCU, full- and part-time. The university has two faculties: of history and theology. It plans to open a Department of Social Pedagogy in the fall. Today 120 graduates of UCU are pursuing graduate degrees in leading institutions abroad.
Source: www.ucu.edu.ua
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